Sofab Inks Secures $6 Million Seed Round to Break the Reliability Barrier for Perovskite Solar

With 90% Market Engagement and Key Technical Milestones, Sofab Inks Accelerates High-Velocity Manufacturing into New Markets: Automotive, Space, and IoT Markets

LOUISVILLE, Ky., July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sofab Inks, the leader in specialty materials for perovskite solar, today announced it has raised $6 million in seed funding. The round was led by strategic investor Cloudberry Ventures.

Solving the 10-Year Reliability Barrier

The funding arrives as Sofab Inks announces a major manufacturing reliability breakthrough, solving the single biggest obstacle standing between Perovskite solar and mass-market adoption: reliability at scale.

"Perovskites are the first materials class that brings tandem solar into range for utility-scale deployment, the segment behind almost all of the roughly 2,800 gigawatts installed worldwide," said Blake Martin, co-founder and CEO of Sofab Inks. "A perovskite cell is only as good as its weakest layer, and the industry has been stuck with C60, a fullerene. It's the largest source of voltage loss in the device and the point where fielded modules crack first. That's the layer we replace. Our metal-oxide nanoparticles bond six to ten times more strongly than C60 and hold up at real sizes, running at 22.3% on 30-centimeter single junction modules. This funding moves us into high-velocity production as we triple our engineering team to manage the 1x to 100x scale-up for 1x2 meter commercial specs." 

"Sofab Inks is redefining the ROI of climate investment by making solar panels significantly more efficient than anything available today. The demand for high-performance renewables is skyrocketing in the U.S., fueled by the massive energy requirements of new data centers and the AI infrastructure build-out," said Mahir Sahin, founder and general partner of Cloudberry Ventures. "Our investment reflects our confidence in Sofab's trajectory as they solve a critical technical bottleneck and scale production to meet the global demand for innovative materials for next-generation solar."  

Why Perovskite Solar Matters Now

Electrification is the direction the entire energy system is moving: transport, industry, heating, and the data centers behind AI are all shifting onto the grid at once. Solar is already the cheapest source of new power on Earth, which makes it the default answer to most of that demand.

Perovskite makes utility-scale tandems work, but the technology's reach goes wider, into places silicon isn't positioned to serve. Perovskite films are roughly 100 times thinner than silicon and can be made at far lower temperatures, so they can be fabricated onto flexible, lightweight, and heat-sensitive surfaces like plastics. That opens solar to curved and weight-limited applications on vehicles, lightweight arrays for satellites and space, and small-format power for the growing universe of connected devices.

Reaching those markets needs cells that last, and that has been perovskite's hardest problem. It's the bottleneck Sofab was built to clear: replacing the fragile fullerene layer the industry settled for with nanostructured materials engineered for durability at manufacturable scale.

Market Momentum and Customer Validation

Sofab Inks is already commercially engaged or in late-stage discussions with approximately 90% of the perovskite industry, including major players such as APS, ASU, Energy Materials Corporation (EMC), Halocell and SunXT.  

APS has had the opportunity to work with Sofab for nearly two years. During this period, through use of our slot die coating technology and Perovskite PV development platform, we have witnessed Sofab make substantial progress in transforming its ink into a commercially viable material and achieving record efficiencies.  Sofab TinFab material addresses a critical challenge in perovskite solar cell manufacturing, and we are excited about the potential impact it could have in reducing production costs. APS looks forward to continuing our collaboration with Sofab, with the objective of providing customers with a total solution that integrates Sofab Tinfab materials deposited with APS slot die coating and drying systems. Miguel Friedrich, CEO at Alpha Precision Systems

"Our research group has used Tinfab extensively as a fullerene replacement and a pathway to more mechanically and operationally stable perovskite photovoltaic devices.  We have observed that fullerene-based materials are the mechanical weak link in terms of extremely low fracture energies that trigger delamination and restrict the commercial viability of perovskite-based technology. The use of Tinfab has completely overcome these challenges by providing a more mechanically robust interface (increasing fracture energy by a factor of ~5X) and a corresponding increase in durability. I see Tinfab as a necessary component for the commercialization of perovskite photovoltaics and look forward to continuing to work with Sofab on important questions related to validating long-term stability." Dr. Nick Rolston, leader of the Renewable Energy Materials and Devices Lab at ASU

"Sofab has been an important nanoparticle ink partner during our development of high-performance Perovskite solar cells using high-speed, roll-to-roll equipment. We look forward to working with Sofab as we move toward commercialization." Tom Tombs, CTO at Energy Materials Corporation. 

"Choosing the right materials partners is one of the most consequential decisions in next-generation solar development. Sofab Inks stood out for their deep expertise in nanoparticle inks and their commitment to enabling low-cost, scalable perovskite photovoltaics. This funding milestone is well-earned, and we're proud to be collaborating with them as both companies grow." Paul Moonie, CEO, Halocell Energy Ltd

"Working alongside Sofab Ink has been an outstanding and effective partnership for SunXT. Their advanced materials were instrumental in achieving remarkable stability in our fullerene-free perovskite modules for 4T tandem applications. As we launch our new R&D pilot line in Rome in 2026, we are eager to scale the use of Sofab-based modules. We believe they will accelerate the timeline for manufacturing cost-effective perovskite modules." Francesco Di Giacomo, CTO and Co-founder of SunXT 

About Sofab Inks

Sofab Inks is a leader in novel and nanostructured materials for the solar industry. The company was spun out of the University of Louisville, Conn Center for Renewable Energy, with support from the US DoE. By focusing on high-performance electron transport layers and specialized inks, Sofab Inks is enabling the transition to mass-market production of perovskite solar applications across multiple markets and applications. For more information, visit https://www.sofabinks.com/

Nicole Conley, Tanis Communications, [email protected]

SOURCE Sofab Inks